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Arizona Cardinals’ Report Card Vs. Philadelphia Eagles

December 2nd, 2013 at 6:56 AM By Steve Smith

The Arizona Cardinals suffered a very disappointing 24-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The loss dropped the Red Birds to 7-5 as they continue to battle for a NFC playoff berth.

Their report card is in. Let's take a look:

Offense: C -

Some good and bad here. Carson Palmer threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns but committed three turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble). The USC product was also sacked five times. It was a rough day for the offensive line. Andre Ellington (knee) was inactive so Rashard Mendenhall led the ground attack with a team-high 76 yards on 18 carries. The Cards surely missed the dynamic Ellington though. Michael Floyd had five receptions for 99 yards, including a 23-yard TD catch. Larry Fitzgerald added five receptions for 72 yards and a 43-yard scoring catch. Fitzgerald now has nine touchdown receptions on the season. He looks like his old self. Arizona converted just four of 12 third down opportunities. That has to improve. The offensive line needs to protect Palmer better as well.

Defense: C -

The Cardinals sacked Nick Foles five times, including two by linebacker Karlos Dansby. Despite the pressure that was applied on the Eagles QB, Foles threw for 237 yards and three touchdowns. He did not throw any interceptions which is no surprise because Foles has 19 TD passes and no interceptions this season. Amazing. Arizona held LeSean McCoy to 79 rushing yards and no scores but had a great deal of trouble covering the immortal Zach Ertz, who caught two touchdown passes from Foles. The Cards have had trouble covering tight ends most of the season. They did a pretty effective job on third down – the Eagles converted just five of 16 opportunities. Dansby and Daryl Washington led Arizona with nine tackles each.

Special Teams: C

Not much to talk about here. Jay Feely had no field goal attempts and Patrick Peterson had just one punt return for three yards. The kickoff and punt return coverage squads were decent if not spectacular. Punter Dave Zastudil was his usual steady self with a 46.2 average on five boots, including two inside the 20. He is still underrated.

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